The invention relates to an assembly made up of individual wall elements and having tongue and groove connections which are constructed and having clamping elements by means of which the tongue and groove connections can be held together in the direction in which they are connected.
Tongue and groove connections are known in many forms. When making furniture, boxes or containers for example the individual wall elements are provided with tongue and groove connections and are fixed together by addition of glue. The tongues and grooves usually have a rectangular cross-section but sometimes they have a triangular or wedge-shaped cross-section.
The loading which occurs in a direction which runs cross-wise to the longitudinal axis of the tongues and grooves can be accommodated by the grooves and tongues because of their positive interengagement in this direction. However, since, due to inaccuracies in manufacture, the tongues and grooves are never quite so exactly dimensioned that a frictional effect is always present holding the wall elements together, then in addition glueing, screwing etc. must take place if the assembly comprising the wall elements is to be sufficiently stable. Without using additional glue or a screw arrangement, the clamping action would soon weaken even with the most exact manufacture because of material fatigue. Displacement of the tongues and grooves longitudinally would also occur if this were not prevented by glueing or a screw arrangement or by other measures.
The tongue and groove connections previously known for constructing these assemblies have numerous disadvantages, the first of which is that specialised and skilled assembly is always necessary in order to put the wall elements together and, in addition, tools and other aids must be used. The next disadvantage is that the assemblies put together in this way are not sufficiently air or water-tight in the region of the connection between the wall elements unless further additional measures are taken to achieve this.
Furthermore it is disadvantageous that the tongue and groove connections cannot be regarded as detachable connections which permit the respective assembly to be assembled and dismantled several times or even frequently. This disadvantage not only relates to the expenditure on labour which is necessary but also to the wear on the material which arises in the region of the connections.
Another disadvantage is that tongues and grooves of rectangular cross-section can be simply assembled without danger of damage to the edges only if the wall elements are kept in each case in a quite specific position during assembly. As soon as any twisting takes place a correspondingly greater force is required for assembly and damage may occur to the edges of the grooves and tongues.